The F-35 Global Enterprise and Australia: The Opportunity for Allies to Learn How to Conduct Sustained Engagement Crisis Operations

12/08/2018
By Robbin Laird The RAAF F-35s on on their way to Williamtown and thereby opening the F-35 Aussie fleet operations in-country. As the Aussies work out their sustainment approach on the various airbases where the F-35s will operate in normal times as well as crisis times, the F-35 partners of…

HMAS Arunta Undocking After Major Upgrade

12/03/2018
On 28 November 2018, after more than 400 days out of the water, Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta undocked to finalise her midlife capability assurance program upgrade at BAE Henderson Dockyard, Western Australia. The upgrade included significant improvements to major platform systems such as the communications centre, radar systems…

USAF Honors RAAF Air Refuellers

11/29/2018
Two Royal Australian Air Force aircraft refuellers have been lauded by their United States counterparts for their contribution to coalition operations in the Middle East. In six months of deployment, Sergeant Kane O’Connor and Leading Aircraftman Shane Brown supplied more than 530 aircraft with almost 27 million litres of fuel,…

The RAAF, Drones and C-17s: A New Maintenance Tool

11/27/2018
The RAAF’s 36 Squadron is using the popular DJI Phantom 4 drone to conduct visual inspections of its C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. Using the consumer-level drone, which retails for around $1,100, means 36SQN maintenance personnel can inspect hard-to-access areas of the aircraft, including its 16.8-metre high vertical stabiliser, for paint…

Industry 4.0: The Case of the F-35

11/19/2018
By Robbin Laird Because the F-35 has been built from the outset on a digital thread production approach and foundation, the program can incorporate, and contribute to a broader set of industrial transformations, known as Industry 4.0. In other words, the F-35 can produce an innovative combat aircraft but it…